Next time you see a used book shop going out of business (which happens all the time if you live near a major metro area!), jump on that. We got a bunch of our bookcases from a bookshop that went under; they're 9 feet tall, extra wide (I think 4 ft), and solid wood, and we paid about $70 each (which is SO much more worth it than what we paid for our crappy Target bookcases (which we have a bunch of, too).

Our home's 'dining room' is actually our library. We have an eat in kitchen and not that big of a house, so we felt two eating rooms would be redundant, and...we love books! We did floor to near-ceiling bookcases in the dining room, plus a large bookcase in the kids' playroom.

How are the Billy bookcases for quality? We had Ikea bookcases, and the shelves nestle onto these little metal pins (and there was one stationary shelf that helped with stability, I assume). We put our encyclopedias on it, and were frightened one night when the entire shelf broke and collapsed and all of the heavy books fell...inches from our infant. The encyclopedias are now stacked in a closet, on the floor.

We are remodeling and have built floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall bookcases along one wall of a wide 15-foot-long hallway. It only took 12 inches out of the hallway width and will hold a ton of books. This is where all our books will live (except that the kids will each have a shelf in their room). I think this will feel less cluttery than having little bookcases in each room. You can accomplish the same thing much more economically with Ikea bookcases and borrowing a few extra inches in any room where you have it- there are some cool photos in their catalog or website of a whole wall of bookcases with a sofa in front of them. I've always liked the idea of a combo dining room/library, so that would also work if you have a formal dining room (we don't).

I've purged a lot of books and we are heavy library users, but I love books and I really want my kids to grow up in a rich learning environment. So far it's working- my 7 y.o. loves to read. He reads all sorts of random stuff, not necessarily things we would think to look for in the library, so I think there is great value to having lots of books in the home!

How are the Billy bookcases for quality? We had Ikea bookcases, and the shelves nestle onto these little metal pins (and there was one stationary shelf that helped with stability, I assume). We put our encyclopedias on it, and were frightened one night when the entire shelf broke and collapsed and all of the heavy books fell...inches from our infant. The encyclopedias are now stacked in a closet, on the floor.

Any adjustable shelf bookcase, not just cheap and not just Ikea, will have the pins.